JOHN HUGHES whipped down one of his player’s shorts on Sunday but last night it was St Johnstone who caught Caley Thistle with their pants down to keep them stuck in the bottom six.

Chris Kane struck six minutes from time to snatch their long awaited second win in 14 games - and cap a frustrating night for the Highlanders having already seen skipper Gary Warren sent off.

The defender copped two yellow cards in the space of eight minutes to see red and gift Saints a 68th minute penalty.

David Wotherspoon saw that spot-kicked superbly saved by Caley Thistle keeper Owain Fon-Williams but his blushes were spared in the end when Kane pounced late on to punish Inverness for not dealing with Darnell Fisher’s searching ball into the box.

That was enough to leapfrog Dundee into fifth place in the Premiership table while Inverness remain stuck on ninth and cursing a second half that when nothing seemed to go their way.

The threadbare McDiarmid Park pitch hardly looked suitable for the fast-flowing football Inverness favour but the Highlanders almost got off to a dream start inside the first minute when Liam Polworth’s terrific searching cross found Jordan Roberts diving in at the back post, but he couldn’t get enough of a connection to turn his header back on target.

Darnell Fisher had a pop for the Saints on 11 minutes only to see his 25 yard rasper flash over the bar.

But Caley Thistle man Iain Vigurs was even closer at the other end when his deadly dipping free-kick whipped down just a fraction too late on to the roof of the net.

Only a terrific last ditch block by Tam Scobbie thwarted Roberts in the heart of the box but the visitors weren’t having all their own way as Saints twice came close four minutes before the break.

First Simon Lappin curled a deadly tight angled free-kick from the right edge of the box that was too hot for Owain Fon-Williams to handle, opting instead to punch it clear for a corner. Then from Danny Swanson’s inswinging deliver Joe Shaughnessy rose in the box to power a downward header and the Caley Thsitle keeper had to drop to the deck quickly to smother the danger.

Overall neither side could say they deserved to have the edge going into the break after a half high on effort but lacking the cutting edge where it counts.

An early second half slip-up almost cost St Johnstone dearly when David Wotherspoon’s slack short passback gave Vigurs a sniff in the box - but credit to the wide man for atoning for his mistake by recovering to get his toe in just in time to prod the danger away with Danny Williams homing in on Vigurs’ cutback.

But Wotherspoon was the man frustrated by another vital intervention at the other end when Swanson’s cutback teed him up perfectly in the heart of the area, but defender Devine was divine with his well timed block too turn it over the bar.

Saints were starting to turn up the pressure now and on 62 minutes Gary Warren copped the first booking of the night when he struggled to contain Lappin driving at him on the edge of his box.

But if he was struggling then, things were about to get even worse for the stopper when another yellow six minutes later earned him his marching orders and a penalty for Saints.

Inverness CT's Gary Warren is sent off after receiving his second yellow card

In fairness, he wasn’t the only one culpable. Danny Williams will curse his attempt to poke a loose ball into the path of Swanson dashing into the box, leaving Warren exposed and lunging late as the Saint went tumbling.

Wotherspoon stepped up to clip the spot-kick towards Fon-Williams’ right hand post but watched in dismay as the Caley Thistle keeper threw himself heroically to palm it away. Perhaps Wotherspoon was still in shock as he tried to react on the rebound only to fluff his second bite at the cherry wide.

But all was forgotten in the 84th minute when Fisher’s tempting cross wasn’t cleared and in the melee it was helped on to Kane at the back post to poke home the vital finish that Saints will hope is the boost they’ve been waiting for to get them back on track after their recent sticky patch.